DAILY NATION Wednesday April 2, 2014 WEATHER |Researchers call for more cooperation Experts raise alarm over climate change Malaria infections will increase and food shortages to become common, says UN report BY JOY WANJA MURAYA AND AGENCIES jwanja@ke.nationmedia.com to more diseases, a UN report has warned. In the report released on G Monday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said that global warming has changed rainfall patterns and affected the quality and quantity of water. The experts cautioned that tropical diseases like malaria will increase as mosquitoes move to higher altitudes. The findings corroborate findings from the US journal Science released in March. Kenya is listed among parts of, Uganda, Tanzania, Madagascar, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Peru, Ecuador and Papua New Guinea that could face a higher malaria risk. Researchers however added that other climate and social-economic conditions could also determine malaria cases. lobal warming could lead to food shortages and expose Kenyans Scientists found out that in warmer years, there were more malaria infections than in cool years. The abundance and sur- vival of mosquitoes also depends on rainfall patterns, temperature and humidity. Malaria epidemics can occur when climate and other conditions change, increasing infections especially in areas where people have little or no immunity to malaria. In many parts of the world, 92 especially in rural areas, malaria parasites have developed resistance to a number of medicines, necessitating more stringent measures to deal with the disease. Over the past decade, a new group of anti-malaria drugs known as Artemisinin-based combination therapies or ACTs has brought new hope in the fight against the disease. In Western and Nyanza regions, malaria infections continue to rise. About 92 children under the age of five contract malaria every day. Director of the International The number of children who get infected with malaria every day in western region WHAT’S ALLEGED Rising heat threatens life Risks: Prof Sir Andy Haines from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine warned that if temperatures rise by two degrees centigrade, people may die of heat waves and they may not be able to work well due to heat. Institute for Environment and Development Camilla Toulmin called for cooperation to deal with the effects of global warming. “Climate change reminds us that we are all in this together and we can only solve this problem as a united international community.” Dr Toulmin advises. Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Prof Corinne Le Quere, warned that climate change threatens food security and world economies. “The atmosphere and oceans are warming. The snow cover is shrink- ing, the Arctic sea-ice is melting, sea levels are rising and the oceans are acidifying. Ecosystems and natural habitats will be upset,” said Prof Corrinne. ������������������������� ������������������������������ ����������������������� ������ ������ ��������� ���� �������� ������� �� �������� ��� ���� ������� ������ ��� �������� ����������� ������������� ���������� ���������� ����������� ���� ���� ���������� ���� ������������������������������������� National News 11 ������������������������������� BRIEFLY NAKURU Man burnt to death after failed robbery A man believed to have been part of a gang was yesterday beaten and set ablaze by a mob at Jogoo Village in Nakuru County. The man’s accomplices escaped. The man was with gangsters who failed to rob a home when the owner raised the alarm. A chief’s pleas to spare the man’s life failed. Crime has soared in the area and last month, a 74-yearold woman was gang raped. Five people are in court. NYAHURURU Hunt on for gang that shot at lorry Police are looking for a four- man gang that opened fire on a lorry yesterday morning. Nyandarua North police boss Benjamin Onsongo said the gang flagged down the lorry near Nyahururu Town as it headed to Nakuru and opened fire when the driver failed to stop. “Three bullets went through the rear and front windscreens but the crew were not injured,” he said. KAJIADO Schoolgirl killed as house catches fire A Standard Seven pupil was burnt to death when their house caught fire. Marikaa Mariapit of Nosidan Primary School in Merueshi location in Mashuru, Kajiado County, was asleep on Monday night when the fire broke out. Her mother escaped without injuries, but was admitted to hospital for shock. Mashuru police boss Gregory Muganda said they had launched investigations.